Stellar Update

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Hello! This week a lovely orange bundle of six fat quarters arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of the Simply Solids Crew Stash Club. I was feeling a little bit low due to missing a lovely meal in a lovely restaurant on Sunday so decided to cut into it straightaway. You might wonder what a meal has to do with sewing and the answer to that is…nothing. Sewing does cheer me up, though, so that was good enough for me to get the rotary cutter out instead of the duster and hoover.

Stellar OrangeA couple of hours later I had three bright orange stars to cheer me up. As mentioned before Stellar is a great free pattern on the Simply Solids website and although it was designed for the quilt-along I’m sure it would look just as great in patterned fabric or a combination of the two. I love making these stars and can’t wait for the March bundle.

Stellar PhotobombI think Charlie likes the stars too.

 

 

Categories: Quilting, Sew Solids Crew Stash Club, Sew Solids Quilt-Along2 Comments

It’s Here!

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My DQS 13 mini quilt arrived and I love it! This little beauty was made by Brenis (Hey Diddle Diddle Woolies on flickr) and came all the way from America.

Spider's Web

However, this wasn’t the only thing that arrived. Check this out:

Pouch

The pouch is as adorable as it is practical and I simply love the Denyse Schmidt scraps destined for my Spring Carnival quilt.

Swaps are always a bit hit and miss but this time I have most definitely hit the jackpot.

DQS 13 Package

 

 

Categories: Doll Quilt Swap 133 Comments

A Little Bit of Sewing

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Last week my parents-in-law arrived to celebrate my father-in-law’s 70th birthday. It meant that not much sewing was done at the end of the week.

I did manage to sew the February Bee blocks for Pippa, which were really quick to make. The pattern is “Great Big Kiss” by Sew Me.

Great Big Kiss

 

I’m sure Pippa’s quilt will look great once all the blocks are put together.

I also managed to make a birthday present for our lovely neighbour Rebecca, who was celebrating her 21st birthday. I pulled out some of my Liberty Tana lawns and decided on a HST (half square triangle) heart cushion. I combined the Tana lawns with some Essex linen in linen for the front and a sage green and white polka dot print for the back.

Liberty HeartThis rather dodgy Instagram photo is the only picture I have of it as I forgot to take pictures before gifting it. Doh! I might see if I can get it back for five minutes and take some nicer pictures.

As I only used one HST of most print (I had to use two prints twice as I didn’t have enough different pieces that were big enough) I can make another one. I think I might have an idea how I can mix it up a bit. I’ll keep you posted.

Categories: Home Projects, Sew Euro-Bee-An1 Comment

Treasure Thursday

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It’s Valentine’s Day today and I have to admit I don’t celebrate it. Despite that I’ve chosen a treasure today that sort of ties in with the theme: A picture in a picture frame.

Photo Frame

This faded photograph of my sister and I in it’s lovely 1950-ies frame stood on my grandparents piano together with many other pictures of us growing up. I have a whole collection of these frames, some of which I inherited from my grandparents others that I bought at secondhand shops. I’ve taken the photographs out of some of them but this one I kept despite the fact that it’s so faded you can hardly see us. To me it’s a little reminder of my family which I miss a lot living here in England.

Categories: Treasure Thursday2 Comments

Waste Not, Want Not

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When I made Little Miss Bossy-Boots Tumbler Cushion, I used two charm packs to cut out the tumblers. This was my first ‘proper’ venture into quilting and I couldn’t bear to throw away the little offcuts. Last Sunday, I dug them out and made a little doll’s blanket for Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ babies.

Doll Quilt Front

As you can see the baby also has a tiny cushion made from some small scraps from Little Miss Bossy-Boots flannel quilt. The mattress, however, still needs a cover and that job is next on my list.

For the back I used some offcuts from the offcuts, and some Kona lavender. I then bound it in some Kona snow.

Doll Quilt Back

It’s only 12,5″ square but as a couple of the dolls are small this is more than big enough to cover them at night. Because that’s what we do at the moment, every morning we dress them and bring them downstairs and every evening we bring them back upstairs, put their pyjamas on and put them to bed. For someone who doesn’t like dolls and never played with them as a child, I’m quite proud that I help with the whole process without too much protest. I just hope she gets back into the train set soon….

 

Categories: Quilting, Quilts1 Comment

DQS 13 Finished!

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Yeah, I’ve finished my DQS 13 mini quilt today. I am so pleased with it and find it rather difficult to part with. Hopefully my partner will love it as much as I do.

I wasn’t sure about how to quilt it (the story of my life) but in the end I went with one line of quilting in the centre, some stitch in the ditch between the pink and the purple and finally some echo quilting on the outside.

Finished DQS 13 Mini Quilt

I had thought of putting a scrappy border around the flower first. However, when I saw the flower appliqued onto the linen background I felt that a border would distract from it too much. Instead I simply made the scrappy binding a little wider than usual. I really like the slightly wider binding, it frames the flower beautifully.

I’ve added a little pin cushion, scraps and some chocolate to my parcel. Bye bye little quilt, I hope you have a good life.

Edited to add: I have found the pattern for this quilt on Craftsy. The Girih Tiles pattern was designed by Endulzar and you can purchase the pattern here.

Categories: Doll Quilt Swap 135 Comments

Treasure Thursday

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Every Thursday I pick one of my ‘treasures’ and tell you a little bit about it. This week I’ve chosen a wall hanging which I bought for the stairwell when we moved into our house.

Wall hanging

I found it in a small shop called Ethnic Origins in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire. Apparently it’s made from old torn or stained saris and the embroideries and beading are absolutely exquisite. I’m sorry that the pictures don’t really do the wall hanging justice.

EmbroideryDetail

The flowers on this arch are my favourite part.

Detail

The details are amazing. I can only imagine how beautiful the women wearing these saris looked. One of the reasons I love this wall hanging so much is the fact that it’s recycling at its best. It would have been an absolute disgrace to throw these wonderful fabrics in the bin, don’t you think?

When I first got it I didn’t know which way to hang it up as there was no hanging sleeve. In the end I decided that one way looked like a river running under some bridges and arches.

Being fairly new to quilting I really hope that I will be able to make something as beautiful and improvisational as this wall hanging one day.

Categories: Treasure Thursday2 Comments

A Skein of Geese

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Did you know a large group of flying geese is called a skein? Well, I didn’t I but now I can say I’ve learned something new today. The information, by the way, came from here.

Anyway, my double circle of geese cushion has been on my to-do list since last June and I’m so happy to finally be able to put a tick next to it.

Double Circle of Flying Geese

After I stopped worrying and got on with sewing the cushion came together really quickly. The fabric I used for the geese is “Good Fortune” by Kate Spain, the green solid is one I got from a friend.

I wasn’t sure how to quilt it but decided to simply follow the geese, which meant 24 stops and starts where I had to break thread. I think it took longer to knot the threads and bury the ends than to piece the whole block.

This cushion was made with someone in mind. However, I now don’t think it is right for this person so it looks like this one is up for grabs. Or it might just stay there on the sofa if I can’t find a good home for it; it goes really well with our sage green feature wall.

I didn’t have a pillow form big enough for the cover (it finishes at 20″) so I pinched the insert of Charlie’s bed so I could take pictures. He wasn’t very happy and decided to check out my photo shoot.

Charlie overseeing the photo shoot

The look on his face says it all…

Charlie photo bombing

Another finish for my FAL list. Not quite on a roll but getting there.

she can quilt

 

Categories: Finish-A-Long, Home Projects, Quilting6 Comments

Treasure Thursday

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Every week I find a little thing that is very close to my heart; sometimes for sentimental reasons, sometimes for looks. This week it’s the latter and it’s a small glass paper weight.

Glass Paper Weight.This beautiful little bit of glass is Irish and was given to me by my sister-in-law. As mentioned above there’s no special story attached to it. She gave it to me a few years ago and I simply adore it. It’s on a chest of drawers with a picture and a plant, a little still life for me to admire. I love the fact that it’s not perfectly round and that the bottom is a bit wonky. It’s handmade, so what is there not to love?

Green SwirlsGreen swirls and air bubbles. I love it!

 

 

Categories: Treasure Thursday1 Comment

First Finish

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Hurrah, I can put a tick on my Finish-A-Long list! Yes, that’s right I’ve finished my Hexie Heart Cushion.

Hexie Heart Cushion

Once I had decided to quilt the hexies in a diagonal pattern, as suggested by Leanne from She Can Quilt, it was a very quick finish. I’m happy with how it came out and hope I can raise a bit of money with it for our local cancer treatment centre.

 

she can quilt
Categories: Finish-A-Long, Quilting4 Comments